Abstract
Purpose
Precrops exhibit vigorous deep root growth, especially when grown perennially. However, their contribution to accumulate essential nutrients derived from deeper soil layers in the topsoil has not been quantified. We determined the vertical distribution of phosphorous (P) and potassium (K) affected by contrasting root systems of 3 precrops and their effects on subsequently grown spring wheat.
Methods
Three precrops (lucerne, chicory and tall fescue) were grown for 1, 2 and 3 years prior to spring wheat cultivation. We measured plant available soil P and K from 0 to 30 cm to 75–105 cm of soil depth after precropping. Root growth and crop performance of spring wheat as affected by precropping were measured in two repeated trials.
Results
We observed maximum 22-fold higher root-length density (RLD; cm cm− 3) of taprooted chicory compared with fibrous-rooted tall fescue in the subsoil. There were significant increases in plant available K in the topsoil by 27 mg kg− 1 over the precrop duration between 1 and 3 years. Grain yield of subsequently grown spring wheat was significantly increased by 10 % and 14 % from 1 year to 3 year-treatments of lucerne and chicory, respectively. Similarly, significant increases in P uptake (7 % and 19 %) and K uptake (21 and 14 %) of spring wheat was noted for the same treatments.
Conclusions
Our data suggest that there is potential for the yield of short-season cereals to be improved by increased soil nutrient bioavailability in the topsoil derived from deeper soil layers by the deep roots of perennial precrops.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are indebted to technicians as well as students working at the Department of Agroecology and Organic Farming (AOL) and Campus Klein-Altendorf.
Funding
The experiment was financially supported by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) under the research unit DFG-FOR 1320 and DFG-PAK 888.
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All authors contributed to manuscript writing. EH has conceptualized the experiment, carried out the experiments and wrote the manuscripts. FL, UP, PMK co-conducted the experiment. SLB and MA carried out the soil analyses and validated the results. KTK provided the resources and contribute to manuscript finalization. TK and UK acquired the funding, provided the resources and supervised the research.
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Han, E., Li, F., Perkons, U. et al. Can precrops uplift subsoil nutrients to topsoil?. Plant Soil 463, 329–345 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04910-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-021-04910-3